The Good Daughter by Karin Slaughter Review + GIVEAWAY!

August 30, 2017

I received this book for free from Publisher, TLC Book Tours for review consideration, opinions expressed are 100% my own. This post contains affiliate links as indicated by an asterisk. Purchases from these links provides a small commission to me at no extra cost to you.

Blurb:

4* I really liked it – The Good Daughter by Karin Slaughter is a dark and intense thriller about two legal eagle sisters who endure two unspeakable tragedies. No matter how hard they try to bury their past, they can’t heal, defend the accused killer or find justice until they uncover the truth.

Synopsis:

“The stunning new novel from the international #1 bestselling author — a searing, spellbinding blend of cold-case thriller and psychological suspense.

Two girls are forced into the woods at gunpoint. One runs for her life. One is left behind…

Twenty-eight years ago, Charlotte and Samantha Quinn’s happy small-town family life was torn apart by a terrifying attack on their family home. It left their mother dead. It left their father — Pikeville’s notorious defense attorney — devastated. And it left the family fractured beyond repair, consumed by secrets from that terrible night.

Twenty-eight years later, and Charlie has followed in her father’s footsteps to become a lawyer herself — the ideal gooddaughter. But when violence comes to Pikeville again — and a shocking tragedy leaves the whole town traumatized — Charlie is plunged into a nightmare. Not only is she the first witness on the scene, but it’s a case that unleashes the terrible memories she’s spent so long trying to suppress. Because the shocking truth about the crime that destroyed her family nearly thirty years ago won’t stay buried forever…

Packed with twists and turns, brimming with emotion and heart, The GoodDaughter is fiction at its most thrilling.“

My Thoughts:

The Good Daughter is the first book that I’ve read by bestselling author Karin Slaughter. Now I knew she wrote thrillers, and I LOVE a good, can’t see the plot twists coming thriller. But honestly, I was shocked at the dark and graphic nature of the crimes. And since those scenes are revisited time after time after time and from each of the sisters’ perspectives, the visual images became more etched in my mind than I would have liked.

Now that I got that off my chest, overall I really liked the book. The characters were complex and puzzles in themselves I could not quite figure out. Dad, Rusty, notoriously defends the criminals of Pikeville, from thieves to accused rapists, there is seemingly no one he won’t defend successfully for a paycheck. His moral compass seems to be all out of whack. So why does he do it? Even after the wife he adored is brutally murdered in front of his daughters, why does he continue to defend the worst criminals of the city? Rusty was one of those characters that gets under his skin, you just don’t understand him until the author reveals all and suddenly you do.

As the title suggests, the focus really is on Rusty’s daughters, Sam and Charlie, two legal eagles themselves. You spend the book wondering which one is the “good” one. They both are haunted by the events of their childhood. Who can blame them? The crime scenes haunt me still after finishing the book a few days ago. They both have dark places in their mind they try to avoid and get past but they can’t until they find out the truth about the tragedies they witnessed. And the truth? I never saw it coming!

What I really liked about this book was getting behind the scenes from the lawyers’ points of view and the fine line they tread when they are also witnesses to the crimes. Their internal emotional struggle to find the truth but not really want to know it. How they come to terms with defending the accused and still seek justice for the victims.

Overall, The Good Daughter is quite an emotional, twisty, turny dark crime thriller and if you don’t mind the graphic nature of the crimes, then you won’t be able to put down this book.

GIVEAWAY!

I think this was a fun book and I want you to win a copy! TLC Book Tours is letting me give away one copy of this book! Thank you TLC Book Tours!

Rules: Open to US residents only ages 18 and older, giveaway ends 9/13/17 at 12:00am EST. Mom’s Small Victories will notify the winner via email. The winner must respond with mailing address within 48 hours. If a response is not received within 48 hours, another winner will be selected. Mom’s Small Victories will send the winner’s address to TLC Book Tours who forwards it to the publisher. The publisher is responsible for mailing the book to the winner.

Books Like This You Might Enjoy:

Gone Girl by Gillian Flynn – 5* because when I think creepy, dark and intense, Gone Girl immediately comes to mind. This book challenges your preconceived notions of right and wrong and tests the limits of love and marriage.

What kind of thrillers do you like? Do graphic crime scenes bother you? Leave me a comment and let me know.

About Karin Slaughter

Karin Slaughter is one of the world’s most popular and acclaimed storytellers. Published in 36 languages, with more than 35 million copies sold across the globe, her sixteen novels include the Grant County and Will Trent books, as well as the Edgar-nominated Cop Town and the instant New York Times bestselling novel Pretty Girls. A native of Georgia, Karin currently lives in Atlanta. Her Will Trent series, Grant County series, and standalone novel Cop Town are all in development for film and television.

Hello Tanya! I found your review quite interesting. Feels as if you’d be a great storyteller. Even if I had read the book, it would have been hard to understood reading this book wihout reading your review first, your synopsis is very intriguing. Keep posting! xx

Hi Tanya! I am currently reading Sons and Soldiers, a WWII nonfiction, and it’s really good, written very well and interesting. I recently finished The Cottingley Secret and adored it! A book to get lost in with whimsy and a hint of magic. Next up is Good Me Bad Me. 🙂

Thanks for this intriguing novel. Your posts are always wonderful and special. I have been reading many captivating novels lately,. The Echo Of Twilight by Judith Kinghorn was memorable. Sun at Midnight by Rosie Thomas was unforgettable.

As I mentioned on Goodreads, I’m not sure I have read a Karin Slaughter novel before, but I know my husband has. I’m with you – I enjoy thrillers but if the violence is too graphic, it bothers me – bad dreams, as we discussed! I tend to shy away from those authors whose writing is too graphic for me….though occasionally, I am OK with it, when the story really blows me away (as in Shining Girls by Lauren Beukes, about a time-traveling serial killer!).

Glad you liked it overall! Now that it is September, I am gearing up for my annual spooky RIP Reading Challenge! I have plenty of suspense, thrillers, etc, stacked up on my shelves to keep me busy for the next 2 months!

Ooh this sounds like an intriguing book! Based on your description I thought of a Gillian Flynn novel “Dark Places” that I liked – it’s another plot-twisting story about gruesome crime that tore apart a family and how it affected one of the daughters. I’ll have to check out this Karin Slaughter novel 🙂

Thanks for the recommendation! I’ve never read anything by Karin Slaughter, but this one sounds really good. It’ll be perfect to cozy up to this fall. Good point about reading at night, though. I love reading when my husband’s working on the farm, but I might have to wait until he’s watching bad TV. 😉 Adding it to my reading list!

Yay, scary books are perfect for fall. I’m so ready, the RIP reading challenge starts today so time for magical, mysterious, thrillers and supernatural books. I have a huge stack and I don’t know where to start.

I cannot wait to read this book. Thank you for such a thorough review; it left me wanting more. I discovered Karin Slaughter when her book The Kept Woman was included in a book club bag from Quail Ridge Books. I enjoy her writing style and ability to deliver realistic suspense.

You’re welcome Erin, good luck! Bummed i missed the Quail Ridge Book Club bash, evenings are bad these days and I couldn’t go this week to the morning one. One day I’ll get there, I still haven’t seen it since they moved to their permanent space! I will have to check out The Kept Woman. Now that I know about her haunting writing, I’ll know to read it more during the day. I’m a scaredy cat when I read that kind of stuff right before bed. Good luck!!